UPDATE: Natural gas service restoration under way in Haynesville

CLAIBORNE PARISH, LA (KSLA) -

UPDATE 2:30 p.m.: Crews have arrived from Arkansas to assist CenterPoint Energy with the process of getting gas service turned back on for business and residential customers in Haynesville.

As of Noon Tuesday, the system had been "purged" of air and tested to ensure the repaired line contains only pure natural gas. That was "phase 2" of the restoration process.

Phase 3 will be going door-to-door to re-ignite the pilot lights at each service address and make sure there are no leaks.

That process is expected to take be lengthy, as crews will need to make sure there are no leaks or problems with re-connecting service at each of the 1,114 addresses.

Right now, CenterPoint Energy says they are focused on restoring natural gas service to the impacted customers and getting things back to normal for them as safely and as quickly as possible. But, in a statement released early Tuesday afternoon, the company confirms, "We will conduct an investigation into how and why this occurred and will seek to recover our costs, if appropriate."  

UPDATE 10:30 a.m.: Haynesville Police Chief Anthony Smith says 1,114 gas meters were affected by the outage.

Crews repaired the leak about 1:30 a.m. but the town still is without gas service. CenterPoint called in 50 trucks from E. Texas and Arkansas.

Crews expect to start turning the gas back on and relighting pilot lights at homes and businesses around noon Tuesday, but critical facilities such as the hospital and nursing homes will be considered a priority.

Workers will need to go into homes and businesses to perform relights. If no one is home, a yellow slip will be left at the home and the relight will have to be rescheduled.

By 3 p.m. Tuesday, the town should know if they'll have to suspend school on Wednesday. 

UPDATE 8:30 a.m.: Crews with CenterPoint Energy have begun Phase One of their plan to restore power to the town of Haynesville.

After an early morning meeting at the Claiborne Parish Fair Building, crews have started to turn the gas valves off at all homes and businesses in the town.

KSLA News 12 is in Haynesville at this hour following the progress of the work. On KSLA News 12 at 9, we'll have more on the restoration process plus speak with CenterPoint Energy about how things are progressing. You can watch KSLA News 12 at 9 online at ksla.com. Click here to watch the program.

We'll continue to have updates throughout the day on ksla.com.

UPDATE 6:45 a.m.: School officials say all Haynesville schools will be closed Tuesday due to the gas outage.

CenterPoint Energy also says some Haynesville residents should have their gas service restored as early as Tuesday evening, the latest time estimate of when all gas service should be restored is Wednesday.

Center Point Energy Spokesperson Alicia D. Dixon says most Haynesville residents will not have gas service any sooner than midday Wednesday. Center Point Energy officials say the outage was caused when a piece of equipment hit a Center Point Energy natural gas line disrupting service.  

Haynesville Police Chief Anthony Smith says Arkla Gas mega crews and Center Point Energy crews along with crews from Arkansas, East Texas and other parts of Louisiana are working to locate the gas leak. Both crews will have to work to turn every meter off in the city including businesses. Smith says this is for precaution. The crews are setting up a command center in the city.

"CenterPoint Energy has begun the process of turning off the flow of gas to each customer's natural gas meter," says District Director for Center Point Energy Eric Barkley. "We will then work to ensure that the natural gas distribution lines are clear of air. Once the lines are clear, we will begin the process of going meter to meter to restore gas service to each customer." 

Smith says both Arkla Gas and Center Point Energy crews will have to work to turn off 3,000 to 5,000 gas meters.

"When we begin the process of relighting, we'd like to ask that customers be at home if possible so our employees can go inside to restore natural gas service. A customer needs to call us only if there is a door hanger at their home or business indicating that we've already been by to attempt to restore service. Please call the number on the door tag left by our service personnel," says Barkley.  

Smith says the city lost all gas service at about 6:30 p.m.

For safety reasons, the company urges customers not to turn any valves or tamper with the natural gas meter. Opening or turning any valves could allow air to enter the natural gas lines, which would hinder the re-pressurization process.

KSLA News 12 will have more details on this story as they become available.

Copyright 2012 KSLA. All rights reserved.

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UPDATE: Natural gas service restoration under way in Haynesville